It has been a long time since the Lassalles have released a new cuvée. And there is a reason for that. When the Lassalle family chooses to release a new wine, it is not taken lightly. They don’t release new wines just because they can. Every new release they’ve come out with over the past several decades has become a long-term classic. Their standards are as high as anybody’s in Champagne.

This new rosé was a joint project with KLWM. Kermit pulled out an old bottle of 1959 Cuvée Spéciale to show off at a party last year with an old rose-covered label (the domaine is in the village of Chigny-les-Roses on the Montagne de Reims) that Jules Lassalle had used for his cuvée spéciale back in his day. (Unfortunately, the bottle was empty, but we did enjoy a pristine magnum of their 1979 Blanc de Blancs.) We contacted the Lassalles about reviving the label, and as luck would have it, they had a batch of reserve wine that they had been considering using for a special new release. The label was revived, the wine was disgorged, et voilà!

Uncommon elegance, winey complexity, pale color, a silky bead, and a flavor profile only possible with base wines all at least five years old: this is a fitting tribute to the Lassalle legacy and a must for your cellar and table.